ELECTION OF SENATOR.

Balloting for the election of United States senator begins on the second Tuesday after the organization of the assembly, at noon, this time on January 20, 1903. Each house votes viva voce separately on that day, the proceedings being spread upon the record. On the day following, the two houses meet in joint session, and that portion of the journal of each relating to the election is read. If the journals show that any person has received a majority of the vote of both houses, an election is declared to have taken place. If no election has occurred, the joint convention proceeds to vote viva voce, the secretary of the senate calling the roll of the senate, followed by a roll-call of the house by the chief clerk. If no election occurs, the joint convention meets each day following, at 12 o'clock meridian, taking at least one and as many more votes as may be agreed upon until an election is secured or the legislative term expires for the session.

A majority vote of all members of the assembly is required in order to secure an election.

JOINT CONVENTION RULES.

The president of the senate shall preside.

Joint conventions have authority to compel attendance of members. Adjournments may be taken from time to time, as expediency suggests. The sergeant-at-arms of each house is required to be present at all joint sessions.

When presiding, the president pro tempore may vote, but a tie vote is declared to be lost.

The rules of the house of representatives, so far as applicable, govern all joint proceedings.

The secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house act conjointly, but the proceedings are only spread upon the house journal. The result of the convention is announced to the senate by its president.

OFFICERS AND EMPLOYES.

The chief officer of the senate is the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house is the chief officer of that body. Unlike the speaker, the president of the senate is not a member of the body over which he presides, and has authority to vote only in case of a tie. He can not vote on the passage of a bill. The president pro tem., being a senator, is entitled at all times to his vote.

Candidates for the principal positions to be filled in the assembly are usually agreed upon in caucus, previous to the organization of either house.

EMPLOYES OF THE SENATE.

The employes of the senate are thirty-seven in number. The list, with their daily compensation, as provided by law, is as follows:

A secretary at $6.00, assistant secretary at $5.00, reading clerk at $5.00, bill clerk at $4.00, docket clerk at $4.00, sergeant-at-arms at $5.00, 2 assistant sergeants-at-arms at $4.00 each, chaplain at $3.00, chief enrolling clerk at $4.00, 1 assistant enrolling clerk at $4.00, chief printing clerk at $4.00, 1 assistant printing clerk at $4.00, 2 messengers at $3.00 each, 1 doorkeeper at $3.00, 1 assistant doorkeeper at $3.00, 1 janitor for chamber at $3.00, 1 janitor for committee rooms at $3.00, 1 janitor for cloak room and gallery at $3.00, 1 telephone mes

senger at $3.00, 1 night watchman at $4.00, 1 matron for woman's gallery at $3.00, 4 pages at $2.00 each, 1 clerk for judiciary committee at $4.00, 2 clerks for revision committee at $4.00 each, 1 clerk for finance committee at $4.00, 1 clerk for railroads and corporations and banking and insurance committees, jointly, at $4.00; 1 clerk for agriculture and irrigation and education and educational institutions committees, jointly, at $4.00; 4 assignable clerks at $4.00 each.

EMPLOYES OF THE HOUSE.

The employes of the house are forty-three in number. The list, with their daily compensation, as provided by law, is as follows:

A chief clerk at $6.00, assistant clerk at $5.00, reading clerk at $5.00, stationery and bill clerk at $4.00, docket clerk at $4.00, sergeant-at-arms at $5.00, 1 assistant sergeant-at-arms at $4.00, chaplain at $3.00, chief engrossing clerk at $4.00, 8 assistant engrossing clerks at $4.00, chief enrolling clerk at $4.00, 8 assistant enrolling clerks at $4.00 each, chief printing clerk at $4.00, 4 assistant printing clerks at $4.00 each, 2 messengers at $3.00 each, 1 doorkeeper at $3.00, 1 assistant doorkeeper at $3.00, 1 janitor for chamber at $3.00, 1 janitor for committee rooms at $3.00, 1 janitor for cloak room and gallery at $3.00, 1 night watchman at $4.00, 6 pages at $2.00 each, 1 clerk for judiciary committee at $4.00, 1 clerk for revision and constitution committee at $4.00, 1 clerk for finance, ways and means committee at $4.00, 1 clerk for corporations and railroads committee at $4.00, 1 clerk for agriculture and irrigation and stock (jointly) committee at $4.00, 1 clerk for appropriations and expenditures committee and fees and salaries (jointly) at $4.00, 1 clerk for education and state institutions (jointly) and 6 assignable clerks at $4.00 each.

All clerks of the revision and enrollment committees, except detailed clerks, must be expert typewriters, and the work of engrossment and enrollment may be done by typewriter with indelible ribbon.

The president of the senate or speaker of the house may, at the request of the revision or enrollment committee, when the labor required to be done by the clerks of said committees can not be done by the said clerks, detail any other competent clerk of the senate or house to assist in the labor to be done by said committees.

In case of an emergency during the last ten days of the session the president of the senate and the speaker of the house may each employ not to exceed two enrolling clerks.

All clerks are assignable, and all printing clerks must be skilled and competent proof readers.

All of the above employes are selected by the house employing them, either by ballot or resolution, and shall perform such duties as may be required of them by the proper members or officers.

The pay of all officers and employes ceases upon final adjournment of the general assembly except the pay of the secretary of the senate, assistant secretary of the senate, clerk and assistant clerk of the house, who are each allowed pay for ten days after final adjournment for completing the records of the proceedings of the session and turning the books and papers over to the secretary of state, taking his receipt therefor.

PRESIDING OFFICERS.

In the senate, a president pro tempore is elected at the opening of each session. Another election is held at the close of the session, and a hold-over senator is elected as president pro tempore, to serve during the interim of adjournment, thus providing for a chief executive of the state in case of the death or disqualification of the governor and lieutenant governor.

In case the lieutenant governor and the president pro tempore are both absent at the convening of the senate, the eldest senator present shall preside until an acting president shall have been elected, which election shall be the

first business of the senate. Hon. Casimiro Barela is senior senator of the Fourteenth General Assembly.

If the speaker of the house be absent and has appointed no member to the chair, the chief clerk calls the body to order and the house selects some member to occupy the chair pro tempore.

ROUTINE OF BILLS.

Bills may be introduced on the first day of the session, and on every legislative day during the first thirty days. After that period no new bills can be introduced, but committees may report substitutes with amendments. Only the general appropriation bill can be introduced after the thirty-day limit.

The body of a bill must be headed with a full and complete title. It is not necessary to place the full title on the bill cover.

No limit is placed on the number of bills which a member may introduce.

READING OF BILLS.

Immediately following its introduction, a bill is read by title, which is considered the first reading. It is then referred to the appropriate standing committee for consideration as to whether or not it shall be printed, and, if favorably reported, is referred to the committee on printing. Two hundred and forty copies are printed, and in this form the bill is again referred to the original committee. If still favorably considered, it is next reported back to the body from which it was received, with the recommendation that it be referred to the committee of the whole for second reading.

Upon passage by the committee of the whole, it is referred to the committee on revision, from whence it goes to the committee on engrossment, to be copied in legislative script. When engrossed, it is reported back to the house for third reading and final passage.

All bills must be read by title when introduced, and at length on two different days in each house.

The final passage of a bill requires a majority vote in either house of all members elected thereto.

A bill can not be amended on third reading without first having obtained unanimous consent to offer the amendment.

AMENDMENT OF BILLS.

A bill having passed one house, and being amended in the other, is returned as amended to the house from whence it came. A vote by roll-call must be taken on the amended bill, the same as on third reading, the question usually being, "Shall the amendments be concurred in?" If the amendments are concurred in, the bill is sent to the committee on enrollment.

If the amendments are not concurred in, and the house amending refuses to recede, a conference committee is appointed, and the house amending the bill is asked, by message, to appoint a like committee on conference. If the conference committees are unable to agree, the fact is so reported to each house, and another conference committee is requested, so continuing until an agreement is reached or the measure is dropped by common consent.

All amendments to a bill are recorded upon the journal.

VOTING ON BILLS.

A motion to lay a motion to reconsider on the table, if carried, effectually disposes of any further consideration of the bill, resolution, etc.

No member is allowed to vote upon a bill in which he is interested otherwise than as a citizen.

A bill tabled by regular action can be taken up at any time, by consent of a majority of the members.

If a bill fails of passage on third reading, any member voting on the prevailing side may give notice that he will move a reconsideration. eight hours are allowed in which to make the motion.

SIGNING OF BILLS.

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The presiding officer of the senate and the speaker of the house sign all bills and joint resolutions in open session, the titles of the same having been publicly read immediately prior thereto.

All bills must be signed by the proper officers of both houses. At the time of receiving such signatures the bill is read by title only.

An enrolled bill of the seate is presented in open session by the chairman of the committee on enrollment, to be signed by the president.

POWERS OF THE GOVERNOR.

The governor is, by law, allowed ten days while the legislature is in session, and thirty days after it has adjourned, in which to consider a bill. If he fails to either approve or disapprove a bill within the legal limit of time, it becomes a law without his signature.

In case the governor vetoes a bill, he returns it to the house from which it originated. It requires a two-thirds vote of all members in each house to pass a bill over his veto. A vetoed bill is transmitted from one house to the other, as on original passage. The usual question on the bill is, "Shall the bill

pass, the veto of the governor to the contrary notwithstanding?"

With an emergency clause, a bill becomes effective as soon as it is signed by the governor. Without an emergency clause, the bill does not become a law until ninety days from the time it is signed by the chief executive.

If a bill contains an emergency clause, two-thirds of the votes of all members-elect, in each house, are required to pass the clause.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.

A bill amending the state constitution must, on final passage in either house, be spread upon the journal in full following the roll-call. A two-thirds vote of all members-elect is required to pass such a bill in either house.

Bills may, by resolution, be referred by either house to the supreme court

for an opinion as to their constitutionality.

No bill can be acted upon while in possession of the supreme court.

No bill can have more than one reading at length, in either house, on the same day.

Neither the title nor the body of a bill can be so amended as to change its original object or purport.

All memorials, resolutions, etc., requiring the signature of the governor must follow the regular routine of a bill.

If a bill or proposition be set for consideration at a certain day and hour, it shall not be considered at an earlier date.

When important amendments are made to a bill, it is required by law that the amendments shall be printed, or the bill reprinted as amended.

A docket is kept in each house, showing the progress of all bills from the time of their introduction. It is a ready-reference for members at all times. Bills calling for an appropriation of state money are, as a rule, referred by the house to the committee on appropriations and expenditures, and by the senate to the committee on finance.

DEFACING OF BILLS.

Where a bill has been passed in one house, the engrossed copy is transmitted to the other house. Care should be exercised by the house receiving it to keep it intact. If amendments are made to the bill, they should not be interlined in the engrossed bill, but should be written on separate slips and placed on the margin of the page.

STATE CANVASSING BOARD.

The state board of canvassers, consisting of the governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, state treasurer and attorney-general, or any three of them, is required to meet on the twenty-fifth day after a general election to canvass the vote cast for congressmen, regents, senators, representatives, judges of either supreme or district courts, district attorneys, and amendments to the constitution. If the twenty-fifth day shall be Sunday, canvass begins on following day.

The abstract of votes cast in each county for the officers of the executive department is sealed up by the county clerks and transmitted to the secretary of state, directed to the speaker of the house of representatives. Upon the organization of the house the secretary of state shall deliver the returns to the speaker, who shall, before proceeding to other business, open and publish the same in the presence of a majority of the members of both houses of the general assembly, who shall for that purpose assemble in the hall of the house of representatives.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS.

The vote for electors for president and vice-president of the United States is canvassed by the state board of canvassers on the last secular day of November. The electors meet on the second Monday in January following.

CERTIFICATES OF ELECTION.

Members-elect to the general assembly should apply to the secretary of state for certificates of election as soon as possible after the vote has been canvassed. Owing to lack of information as to the postoffice address of many of the members, the certificates are generally held at the office of the secretary of state until called for.